The Don’t Wants
Everyone can imagine a future they want. It’s easy. Think about what you want. Imagine it.
Will you ever get there? Probably not.
It’s actually incredibly difficult to connect all the dots to achieve your vision. It takes discipline. Perseverance. Every day another reason to quit will pop up. Ask anyone who’s remodeled a house.
So what can you do instead? Try making a list of the things in your life that you don’t want anymore. The things that are preventing you from living in the future you imagine.
I call this the “get rid of it” technique. The idea is that the future you imagine already exists. What you want is already yours. It’s just covered in a lot of muck. Your job is to get rid of the muck.
This is the opposite of the goal achievers philosophy. Goal achievement is additive. You climb the mountain one step at a time. Each goal leads you toward your future.
The “get rid of it” technique assumes you’re already perfect. You already have what you want. But you need to strip away all the things in your life that are keeping it from you. The faster you recognize and get rid of the things in your life you don’t want, the closer you get to what you want.
In the end it’s the same thing... you imagine a future and you want to live there. But shifting your perspective can put your focus on changing the things you can, making decisions to get unstuck, removing obstacles... instead of trying to control the outcome of your work, and the work of others.
I’m no expert, and this may or may not work for you. But it’s a fun exercise nonetheless. If you’re feeling stuck give it a try.
What are your don’t wants? What can you do to get rid of them?